Kingdom of Deception
by Aison Armigen
Summary: Kingdom Hearts, Death Note style. L as Sora, Light as Riku, Mello and Near as, well... you'll see. An enigmatic detective is charged with restoring balance to the world, but will it help him solve his case? What really defines goodness? And what is light?
1. Prologue

Notes:  
This is in progress.  
Yes, his name is supposed to be omitted in this chapter.  
This is alternate universe style, with both Death Note and Kingdom Hearts canon. Hopefully.  
The full Death Note cast will be in this as the full Kingdom Hearts cast. Liberally, with artistic opinions of course.  
This will be different...

They say good stories don't need introductions.

Here's to hoping this is one of them.

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Famous Last Words:

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

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Prologue – Sleeping to Wake

"… forward. Can you do it?"

Groggy eyes fluttered. He felt like he had fell out of a thirty story building. He achingly rubbed his dark eyes. A second later his eyes snapped open, detective's mind reeling. He seemed to be on a darkened, stained-glass platform, and a disembodied voice was speaking to him. This was not a good way to start a day. It figured, that when he actually chose to sleep, something like this would happen.

He felt, more than anything, the voice waiting. He pulled his memory. What had it said?

"_Take a step forward. Can you do it?"_

He cautiously crept into a crouch, bare feet finding purchase on the cool glass, before slowly standing in a defensive posture. He looked around, seeing nothing but darkness, then slowly stepped forward. A door appeared. He blinked.

He knew he wasn't sleeping; his analytical mind had deduced that at least. But what he was… experiencing… was defying logic. He needed more facts. He approached the door, ornate, ancient-looking, and almost glowing. Slowly, he placed his hand on it.

"The time you have to open the door is not quite yet."

Light, brighter than anything before flashed. He winced, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes but the light had already faded, leaving a single quiet office. With three associates in it that should have been dead. They stood, blank, silent. He stared, not so willing to do the same. He approached the only male of the three.

His voice, when it came was soft and careful, questioning, "Aiber…?"

"What do you want out of life?" Aiber's bored voice droned, sounding much as he did in life.

The detective took a moment to blink again. Places that defy logic and physics – possibly the space-time continuum, apparitions of dead people, and now nonsensical questions. He might have been originally wrong. This was seeming more and more like a waking dream. His dead associate must have decided he had waited long enough; he repeated the question.

Fine, the detective thought, we'll see where this game takes us.

"I want the peace achieved by justice."

Aiber smiled, just slightly, before his gaze went blank and his eyes took on a dead quality. The shaggy-haired detective grew cold. Next to him, not allowing him a moment, Wedy spoke, eyes mischievous over her dark glasses.

"What's most important to you?"

His mouth formed syllables before he could think them over. "Winning."

She laughed, musically, for a fraction of a second before the light left her eyes as well. He paused, then. He did not want to see this happen to the next person. Again. Yet behind him, her confident voice spoke.

"L."

He turned slowly, eyes wide, as if his only known name was a spell to draw him there.

"Naomi…san."

She smiled warmly, if a bit sadly. "L… what do you fear?"

"Naomi-san…?"

The dark-haired woman shook her head slowly. "I don't make the rules, L. Don't let our memories be used against you. I have confidence in you… that you can do this. You can succeed where others haven't. Don't mind us… what's left of us anyway." She smiled again. "We make our own destiny.

"What do you fear, L?"

This was a dream, he thought. Speaking words would not condemn her to die again. She was already dead. This was a dream.

He had to believe that. Curiosity wouldn't allow him to not answer the question.

"What do you fear?"

He looked at her, still smiling with the utmost faith in him. He memorized her features.

"A meaningless existence."

Her eyes widened slightly. "L…." And then that world shattered. He barely heard a voice murmuring in the background.

"The day you will open the door is both far off and very near."

He was focused on the object Naomi had pressed into his hands as the world she was in fell apart. Reality remade itself and he found himself on stained glass again. In his hands lay a glass strawberry on a chain. His mind sparked a minute; before his stomach caught on that it wasn't edible. He clutched it tightly, head bowed in remembrance.

A light shone down from a far-off place at the edge of the platform. The detective shuffled towards it, the charm in his hand pulsing slowly. He peered upward through messy dark hair. Like a spotlight, the light enveloped him. It was almost… entrancing. The disembodied voice rang out again.

"The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes."

More nonsense, he thought, sliding his gaze to either side cautiously. A prickle started at his spine and he twisted around, bringing him inches away from his own features, drained of life and darkened. Sharp wings jutted from his… its shoulder blades. It raised a hand as if in greeting, and smiled as the detective never would in real life, showing viciously sharp teeth. Something twisted in the detective's stomach. Without understanding why, he _knew_ this thing was wrong. The charm burned in his hand and the figure's eyes glowed gold.

"There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong."

Without warning the charm _shifted_, lengthening and solidifying all at once. One second there was a glass strawberry charm, and the next there was some kind of… sword?... key?... made of something resembling metal. A large skeleton key, he decided, silver with a blue… hilt? He took a moment to look it over. Was he expected him to fight his double? It wasn't like he was an expert in swordsmanship… He glanced up to see his shadow _blurring_, growing larger, thicker….

"But don't be afraid."

He took a step back, again noticing that there was nothing around the platform but darkness. The thing was growing larger still. Afraid? No, he was just filled with how ridiculous this was. He was being threatened by a giant shadow on a glass platform with an oversized key as a weapon. There had to be some way to escape this.

The thing solidified, as much as shadows can. It was bulkier, with spikes for hair, and had larger wings and clawed fingers. Oh, and it was about sixty feet tall. The detective grimaced. It figured.

"And don't forget…"

The thing slammed its arm forward. The detective did a back flip, landing in a crouch two feet from where its hand was embedded. Darkness pooled around it. He decided this wasn't a good sign.

Its eyes watched him, focused on him, as the other hand shot out, much too fast. Instinctively he brought his arms, and by chance the blade, up to shield his face, closing his eyes. A second later, he skidded backwards, bare feet burning as he was pushed by the force of the blow. He opened his eyes in something akin to amazement. The key had stopped the fist from crushing him. The giant pushed harder but the blade held.

To the side, there was suddenly movement, as the pooled darkness thickened into tentacles and whipped towards the detective. He had no time to react before they twined about him, sheathing his body tightly. For the first time panic graced his features and he struggled helplessly. The strange blade pinned against him vanished.

"…But don't be afraid."

The floor had vanished, the liquid dark encompassing everything around him. He jerked his head up to meet the behemoth's shinning gaze as the shadows closed over his head.

_So don't forget:_

_You are the one… who will open the door._


	2. Chapter One

Thanks to my dear beta, Nk. I love you.

This chapter is told in parts, much like how life is when you have insomnia.  
Another note is I'll be rushing up to the place where Light joins the team... simply because that's where -my- story will start.

I think it's sort of cool that I'm explaining some of his quirks, like switching hotels a lot, without meaning to. Eh.

I probably won't put a new one out till december starts, but stay with me if you like it. Chapter Two will start some stuff.

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Like a shadow, I'll follow you – Chapter One:

The first thing L became aware of was a hyperactive radio DJ.

"Wake up, all you lazy bums! This is Misa-Misa, hard at work, and you should be too!" Her voice continued on to explain the sunny weather and daily traffic report before switching to a commercial. He squinted at his alarm. It occurred to him that he was in his large bed in his latest hotel room. He reached for the off button, then flipped the switch next to it, drawing the shades back. Sunlight streamed in causing him to wince.

A jolt of memory flashed in his eyes. He was standing in light, light so bright and pure that it amplified the darkness around him. L found himself starting to breathe heavier. That's right. Glass platforms, questing dead people, shadow monsters, and a key… or was it a blade?

L was fully awake as he relived the events of the past night… his dream. What did it mean? He exhaled, pushed a hand up through his messy hair. It was probably just a malnourished REM cycle, filling a couple weeks worth of imagination in a night. Though he didn't feel refreshed. He actually felt pretty sore. As if he had been squeezed tightly.

L shook his head. He was being ridiculous. And he was very likely late for work. This was why he didn't sleep, he thought, dragging himself out of bed.

- - - - -

L was bored. His current case was so amazingly simple. He couldn't see the reason for them to call him. He typed the evidence into a document then forwarded it to the person in charge. He reached for one of the suckers next to his keyboard. He needed a challenge, he thought, toying with the wrapper. They all claimed to be but none really were. He needed something.

The reply pinged on his desktop. Gracious thanks, and wonder and amazement at his abilities. Listlessly, he tapped out the basic reply and hit send. His teeth cracked the hard sugar as he spun his chair around.

- - - - -

What a detective does when there are no cases is to look for more cases. He didn't need the money, he needed the amusement. The distraction. The fulfillment.

Sadly, there weren't many that fit the criteria. He popped a cherry into his mouth. There was that one in Bermuda, the lengthy England one, the more recent case in America with Naomi…. And that's where that thought process stopped.

The news held nothing for him. Murders, _click_, arson, _click_, hostage situation, _click_, heart attack, _click_, traffic accident, _click_…. Well, he'd wait. There was nothing more to do. He'd wait, for the perfect case.

- - - - -

The next time he slept was a week later.

He woke after two hours, those two hours full of shadows and darkness enveloping the city he was in. Once awake, he made preparations to leave.

He told himself it was because there was nothing for him to do there.

For it was definitely not because of his double's glowing eyes watching him as he ran in his dream.

- - - - -

"Tokyo! Tokyo!"

The subway was not L's favorite spot. The anonymity was comforting but the sheer mass of the crowds was anything but reassuring. His eyes darted through the crowd, closely watching anyone he deemed unsafe. His tram appeared and he quickly got on. A uniformed student next to him smiled, presumably noticing his nervousness. L nodded in response. Undaunted the student leaned over.

"The last car is almost never full." The student was still smiling congenially.

L looked at him suspiciously, but seeing nothing sinister in his eyes, he relented. "…Thank you."

The student waved at L's back as L made his way to the other car. The student turned his attentions back to the law book he was reading, auburn hair fringing his eyes.

- - - - -

Japan had no shortage of unsavory characters. It seemed there were few people that gave others' lives more than a moment's regard. Everyone was focused on themselves, and the next cheap thrill.

Cynically he thought maybe he wasn't any different.

The recent sprig of heart attacks seemed different from the selfish flow. The health department called it a virus, branches of government was convinced of poison, and the police department was leaning towards mass murderer… as crazy as that sounded. And his instincts were telling him the same thing.

A person with a skewed sense of justice, who delivered it on criminals and immoral people. Common sense dictated that L not believe the talk of gods' judgment and the angel of death. This was a person, foolishly, childishly, playing at god. And L, though not a fool, would childishly rise to this challenge, and focus on his next cheap thrill.

His cynicism abated slightly though, as he reviewed the data he had already gathered for his case. This would be complicated, a challenge indeed, that would test him. He would call true justice on this false god, and come out victorious.

Never mind the shadows he kept seeing out of the corners of his eyes. He sipped at his more-sugar-and-cream-than-coffee draught, and reviewed the data again. He positively did not see that shadow that moved in the corner. It was necessary to focus right now, and a mental breakdown would not assist him in solving any cases.

L twitched his head to the side to see nothing more than a normal shadow of the lamp near him. Irritated with himself, he exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding.

As he raised the cup to his mouth again, it slipped from his loosened grasp. L didn't notice the priceless china as it fractured and broke, or the contents seeping into the hotel's light carpeting. He only saw the normal shadow as it sprouted antenna before it uncurled its legs and stood. What passed for its head moved about the room, resembling someone having a seizure. It seemed to find nothing it liked, and jerkily shuffled through the wall near him.

This time L had to remember to breathe, deep gasping breaths that were as ragged as he felt. This time was no dream, but it would be a long time before he slept again.

He changed hotels that night.


	3. Chapter Two

I had a busy month. I apologize for the delay. And hopefully this isn't too bad. My real plot will start in a couple chapters and then the storyline will finally pick up.

I'm almost going to do outakes for the past chapters, simply because this story is too serious! So the next one will be that, and you can skip over it if you want.

I'll most likely have another actual chapter up in a week or two. Sorry.

-

Through Your Eyes, I See Your Soul - Chapter 2

  
There was a difference between being sure of something and proving it was fact.  
Unfortunately for L, many things in this case toed that line.

It had already been verified that the killer was in Shinjuku, the limitations of needing knowledge of the victim's name and face, and that there was somehow a leak in the ICP. The investigation team was small, only five, and L had studied the familial ties and links the members had, looking for someone with the correct profile - if not to carry out the killings, but to believe in it enough to have a hand in it.

And one did stand out, to L.

A brilliant law-school bound student, dutiful and upright, friendly and courteous. To L, this brilliant son of the chief investigator was his main suspect. When questioned, L would explain how the student fit the profile: young enough to be childish, intelligent enough to be clever about it. And as the newest data suggested, the killer was still a student. But that wasn't really why L had profiled him.

Crouched in his computer chair, he clicked a link on the student's file. Why he profiled the student had to do with L's instinct, and he was confident enough from past experience to put faith in that. The student's school picture loaded, and L bit his thumb distractedly. His instinct and the name that came to mind whenever he looked at a picture of the student, as if remembering an old friend. L's eyes widened to take in all the details of the student's face before letting his lips curl upwards.

"Hello. _Kira_."

-

L was definitely not seeing shadows. Not when he was on his computer, not when he was eating sweets, not when he was reviewing data. He had stopped sleeping altogether now, upping his sugar intake to compensate for both his high intellect and lack of sleep.

He couldn't apply it to logic anymore - they were no longer shadows from lamps or dressers that shifted to something else. They seeped up from the floor now, sprouting their tentacle-like antennae, and crept along with their sporadic movements; searching for something they never seemed to find.

Against all reason, L couldn't help but wonder what these delusions were searching for.

For, of course, that's all they were. There was nothing else in this strewn reality that could account for what he saw, now more and more, every day. He obviously was unbalanced; from a third party stand-point it made perfect sense with his background and occupation. He was human, and bound to human limitations. Bound to fracture, at a point.

Because those definitely could not, in any way, be real.

L wondered how many times he would tell himself this, as a living shadow walked past him. He set his teacup down slowly. Time to change hotels again.

-

The cameras were both a simple solution to a complicated problem and a stroke of genius from his fractured mind. He had begun to think the leak was a horrendous problem, and if only he could send some of those shadows to the investigation team's places of residences, to search and watch and investigate for him.

The cameras and microphones were the next best thing.

He called in a couple of favors for professionals to set them up without anyone the wiser. They reported back with schedules and habits, and he retired to his private, and so far "un-shadowed" rooms, the remote to a line of TVs in hand.

L's sense of time vanished within that dark room, eyes widened so his large pupils could take in every detail that went on.

Most interesting, he thought, was while all others were completely uncensored in what they did behind closed doors, Light - for this auburn-haired student's name was indeed Light, as contrary as that was, being he was the supposed scion of darkness and blood... L digressed. It was interesting because the others would do precisely what one would do privately. And Light would do completely nothing. He would go to school, study, eat, sometimes watch the news, and sleep. Clockwork. Robotic. Perfect. And what L saw was someone being very, very careful.

More uncounted time. All the TVs now held different angles of Light's room. One saw his focused eyes, another his determined face, another his steady hands as they flowed across the paper, another his head bent over his law book, still another was watching his bed. L found this one particularly interesting lately, since Light had taken to lying flat on his back and staring up, directly at the hidden camera with his intense gaze.

The first time Light's reddish brown eyes stared straight at L's acting eye, L had to admit he was startled. But no one was there to bear witness to the great detective's small show of emotion. He had gasped, pale lips parting slightly, dark eyes widening before relaxing to half-mast. It was if the Angel of Death had stared into his soul. A handsome prince with the eyes of a devil looked at him, without seeing him, with a ghost of a smirk on his perfect face. It was… unsettling.

Now L waited for those moments. They made him laugh. Well. They made him amused. There was no explanation at all for it, but it was obvious the boy knew that at least one camera was there. And yet he did nothing about it. He just waited patiently.

L's mouth twitched upwards. This boy was so interesting. Even though in a game of patience, L would be crowned the victor. But he didn't have time to play.

In the countless days he had stayed closed off from the investigation team, his suspect had done nothing to incriminate himself. At least in his own home. Very well then.

He made a call to order all the cameras removed, and then switched lines to have false transcripts made up. If the interesting boy didn't do anything at home, perhaps his school would be a better hunting ground.

So immersed in his tasks L didn't notice the newest shadow jerking around behind his chair. It stared at the consoles. The images resembled its master but didn't feel like the master. Seeing nothing else, it went to shuffle through the wall.

L's hand reached for the remote and clicked the television off just in time for the reflection of the shadow's glowing eyes to catch in the dark screen. He stared, seemingly indifferent, then slowly picked up the phone and dialed a third time for new hotel accommodations.


	4. Omake A

And on to today's show!

We have here with us two intelligent young men from the series Death Note! A Yagami Light, and L-beep-...

(Watari waves at L from the sound consoles. Light looks at L suspiciously.)

Um, just "L".

Light: I think the audience is curious. Could we have the uncensored version of that... for the fans' sake?

L: Yes. My name is L.

Light: (facepalm)

-

_Take a step forward. Can you do it?_

L looks up at the unseen ceiling then back down to the floor he was lying on, before taking a deep breath.

"The probability of me being able to move after such a fall that my body's pain receivers are telling me about is quite unlikely, perhaps from zero to point one two eight percent; though there have been instances of such a thing. And granted if I could move, the likelihood of me listening to the voice of someone I can't see in a place I don't know is again in the lowest percentile. Though, with the fall, the voice I'm hearing could be the result of a possible concussion, and listening to something my mind has fabricated doesn't seem like an intelligent choice to make at the current moment."

The silence spoke volumes.

-

"The thing solidified, as much as shadows can. It was bulkier, with spikes for hair, and had larger wings and clawed fingers. Oh, and it was about sixty feet tall. The detective grimaced. It figured."

L: (looks at shadow monster, looks at keyblade; drops it)

Light: (portals out next to L, smacks him in the head with rolled up papers before pointing to them) The script says you're supposed to try to defend yourself.

L: (blankly looks at) Light-kun, do you see how large that creature is?...

Light: Well yeah, but still... wait a - Ryuk?!

Ryuk: (from high up) Hey. Raito. Long time no see.

Light: (side glance at L) ...Buy apples. Throw them off the side. Then you might stand a chance.

L: (looks at)

Light: What? I'm just trying to help the scene progress.

L: (shrewd look) Light-kun. How do you know this?

Light: ...And, action! (portals out)

L: (looks at Ryuk) Light-kun said if you follow him, he'll give you apples.

Ryuk: Ah! (vanishes)

L: (walks through the door behind where Ryuk was)

Somewhere Light is screaming, as a super-sized Ryuk realizes Light has no apples.

-

((Nk is my dear editor.))

Nk: Well if the tentacles are going to be gripping L…

A: ...that sounds so wrong.

Nk: (sigh)

A: (snicker)

-

"The last car is almost never full." The student was still smiling congenially.

L looked at him suspiciously, but seeing nothing sinister in his eyes, he relented. "…Thank you."

The student looked at L pleasantly. "Oh, you're welcome. Now please, if you would marry me so we could have super-genius children."

L: (slow blink. shifty steps away.)

-

L only saw the normal shadow as it sprouted antenna before it uncurled its legs and stood. What passed for its head moved about the room, resembling someone having a seizure. It seemed to find nothing it liked, and started to do the macarena.

-

L's eyes widened to take in all the details of the student's face before letting his lips curl upwards.

"Hello. _Kira_."

L blinked. "Wait. Didn't I see that kid on the train?..."

-

L was definitely not seeing shadows. Not when he was on his computer, not when he was (cough) popping candy like a fiend...

-

Because those definitely could not, in any way, be real.

L wondered how many times he would tell himself this, as a living shadow walked past him. He set his teacup down so he could refill the shadow's cup. They both sipped at them slowly. L couldn't comprehend how the shadow could take it black.

-

...still another was watching his bed. L found this one particularly interesting lately, since Light had taken to lying flat on his back and staring up, directly at the hidden camera with his intense gaze and smiling, before slowly stripping off his clothes.

-

So immersed in his tasks L didn't notice the newest shadow jerking around behind his chair. It stared at the consoles. The images resembled its master...

It garbled, master!, in its strange tongue before flinging itself at the television. It bounced off with a solid thunk, and lay whimpering on the floor.

L, still on the phone, looked at it and raised an eyebrow, before shaking his head and continuing his conversation. Damn hallucinations.

-

Light: So when am I actually going to show up in this story?

L: You, Light-kun, are only the secondary main character.

Light: What's that supposed to mean Ryuzaki?

L: It means we'll be meeting in the next chapter, Light-kun.

Light: Whenever that is...

(from off stage) What about Misa?! When is Misa showing up?! Light!

L: (walkie-talkie in hand) Watari. Call security please.

Light: (eyebrow twitch) Was that... gunfire?

L: Watari. Security. Not Mello. - Sincerest apologizes, Light-kun.

Light: (mumble) For what? Not killing her?

L: Hm? What was that, Light-kun?

Light: (bright smile) I said thanks, Ryuzaki.

L: Of course. Anything.

Light: Anything... So. What about your na-

And that's all the time we have for today!

Light: Hold on a minute!

Thanks for watching and enjoy the rest of your scheduled show!

Light: I said, wait, goddamnit!

(lights turn off)

Light: ...

Ryuk: So Raito. Where are those apples you had for me?

Somewhere, a single scream is heard.


End file.
